Netball is a sport that builds up your health and fitness levels through regular training and matches. Netball helps to build upper body strength, leg muscles and the cardiovascular system, amongst other benefits. Here’s why netball could be the sport to boost your fitness levels through physical exercise.

Although a non-contact sport, netball is still a fast-paced and intensive game, which will quickly boost your health and fitness levels. Here are some of the key benefits it has on the body:

• Burning calories and lowering body fat if played regularly.

• Improves upper body strength, working out key arm muscles.

• Improves hand-eye co-ordination, with precision passing and shooting necessary to succeed.

• Builds up leg muscle strength and stamina due to its mixture of brief bursts of sprinting and longer jogging.

• Develops the body’s cardiovascular system, with the heart and lungs able to deliver more oxygen to fuel the muscles.

• Improves the body’s flexibility and nimbleness, as it requires quick changes of direction and speed.

PLAYING THE BALL

• When a player receives a pass they are not allowed to run/dribble the ball.
• To gain control of the ball, a player can bat/bounce the ball once.
• A player has to be standing before they throw the ball
• Players have three seconds between catching the ball and making a pass
• A player cannot: punch, roll, kick or fall on the ball, pass the ball in any way while lying, sitting or kneeling on the ground, or use the goal post as a way to regain balance or as a support while stopping the ball from going out of court. 

FOOTWOOK

Having caught the ball, a player may land or stand on:

• One foot – while the landing foot remains grounded, the second foot may be moved anywhere. 
• Two feet (simultaneously) – once one foot is moved, the other is considered to be the landing foot.  

CONTACT

No player may contact an opponent, either accidentally or deliberately, in such a way that interferes with the play of that opponent or causes contact to occur. 

OBSTRUCTION

• Player with ball: the nearer foot of the defender must be 0.9m (3ft) feet from the landing foot of the player with the ball.
• Player without ball: the defender may be close, but not touching, providing that no effort is made to intercept or defend the ball and there is no interference with the opponents throwing or shooting action.   

SHORT PASS

The moment the ball is passed, there must be room for a third player to move between the hands of the thrower and those of the receiver. 

OVER A THIRD

• The ball cannot be thrown over a complete third without being touched by a player who is standing or who lands within that third.
• The pass is taken from the third where the player landed after gaining possession 

OFFSIDE

• Players must stay within their designated playing areas.
• A player may reach over and take the ball from an offside position provided that no part of their body touches the ground in that area. When two opposing players go off side but neither touches the ball, they are not penalised.
• If one or both players are in possession of the ball when they go offside, a toss up is given in their own area of play.                                 

FREE PASS / PENALITY

• If a free pass is awarded it may be taken by any player allowed in that area, as soon as they have taken up a stationary position. 
• If a penalty pass is awarded the offending player must  stand out of play beside the thrower until the pass or shot has been taken.   

THE TOSS UP

•  A toss up is taken to put the ball into play when
• Opposing players simultaneously contact each other
• Opposing players simultaneously knock the ball out of court.
• Opposing players simultaneously gain possession of the ball
• The umpire is unable to decided who last touched the ball out of court
• Opposing players are simultaneously offside with one in possession of the ball.
• The two players stand 0.9m apart, facing each other and their own goal ends. Their arms should be straight with hands by their sides.

 Official Netball Rules Book

You can purchase one from the England Netball website